Paper sheet breaking apparatus



Sept. 26, 1939. F. T. SHEEDY E f-AL I 2,174,112

PAPER SHEET BREAKING APPARATUS Filed June 20, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS FRANK 7. SHEEDY LOUIS TRAUNG ATTORNEY.

p 6, 1939. F. T. SHEEDY El AL' 2,174,112

. PAPER SHEET BREAKING APPARATUS I Filed June 20, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR5 FRANK 7T SHEEDY Lou/s TRAUNG ATTORNEY.

Patented Sept. 26, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE P PER sneer BREAKING APPARATUS Application June 20, 1938, Serial No. 214,856

12 Claims.

This invention relates to the so-called breaking of paper which has been coated on one side with a layer of gum, or varnish, particularly highly varnished sheets of printed labels, so that they will not curl when subsequently out up, but will lie substantially flat for use in labeling machines or hand labeling.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide apparatus of the character described which will operate directly on separate sheets of such coated or varnished paper without the sheets being carried upon a supporting web or between supporting webs during the breaking operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus for breaking-the varnished sheets immediately after leaving the varnish drying oven after varnishing and while still gripped by the drying conveyor.

Another object of the invention is to provide means to permit the individual sheet gripping bars to pass the breaker edge.

Another object is to provide holding back means behind the breaker edge which will act only on the unvarnished side of the sheet and not mar the varnished surface.

Still other objects are the control of the degree of breaking of the sheet, height of breaker strip or edge over which the sheet is drawn, force of the holdback means, etc.

Other advantages of the invention will appear in the following description and accompanying drawings.

, In the drawings: s r v Figure l is a side elevation of a portion of an endless chain conveyor in the run of which our breaker apparatus is installed. The view is taken as from the line l-l of Figure 2.

Figure 2 is a plan view of Figure 1 showing about half the total width of the conveyor.

Figure 3 is a view similar to that of Figure 1, but taken in section through an intermediate portion of the conveyor as seen from the line '33 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged view of an end portion of the breaker blade and its adjustable mounting on its supporting shaft.

- as done on the special varnishing press of "our :55,

joint Patent No. 2,053,582 and. from which press suctionslo-t' to put tension on the sheet as it is dragged over thescraper or breaker blade.

,chain strands are supported. on idler roller 4,

the sheets are in practice gripped one by one by grippers of one endless chain conveyor and carriedthrough a drying oven, then through cool air, and released from the grippers at the outer end of the conveyor to fall to the pile of finished 5 sheets. The present invention is the interpositionof apparatus across the run of the sheet conveyor for automatically scraping the back of each sheet over a scraper blade, under tension put upon the sheet, was to break its. varnished surface as it is termed inthe art'to thereby remove its normaltendency to curl very badly'due to the unequal surface tension set up by the varnish in drying.

Since the present invention has only to do with the breaking apparatus cooperating with the sheet conveyor as it carries the varnished sheets face-up after leaving the hot drying oven and air cooling zone just before the sheets are discharged "from the conveyor, the drawings are restricted 20 to a portion of the'conveyor on which the sheets are carried just before reaching the discharge end and at which portion the breaker mechanism is of the sheet immediately as the gripper bar passes, and at a pointjust behind the breaker blade the sheet is retarded-orheld down against an air 3 In the drawings I is a portion of one of the two side frames which support the conveyor, and. 2 is one of the twolower laterally spaced runs of chain of a the chain conveyor which carry or rather drag the finished varnished sheets of paper X over the breaker blade and to the discharge end of the conveyor, 3 is one of the two upper runs of the chain returning after passing over the end sprockets, not shown, and on their way back to pick up freshly varnished sheets to carry them through the drying oven and chilling air zones not shown and; over the breaker blade. The

and/or tracksj l', and may travel more or less horizontally or up and down. inclines as may be required for the particular space available for the drying ovens, and the sheets X are each 3 conventional j' spring actuated printing press grippers 5, a plurality of which are arranged along a gripper bar comprising rods 6, 6' extending transversely of the conveyor and secured at their opposite ends in blocks or attachments I secured respectively to the opposite strands of chain.

For the main travel of the sheets X they are gripped only at their leading margins by the grippers 5 and the remainder of the sheet is dragged over a stationary shelf or web of any material but preferably a sheet of wire mesh fabric 8 which supports it and through which the hot air of the oven and the cooled air of the chilling zone can circulate, and in Figure 3 the final end of this sheet of supporting wire mesh is seen to terminate at 8' where it is suitably secured to one edge of a fixed angle iron frame 9 provided with a long slot 10 extending transversely of the conveyor for substantially the width of the paper sheets being carried along so that the sheets will be successively dragged across. this slot to cover the same as they are carried along by the conveyor.

' Slotted frame 9 is brazed or welded to a horizontally extending slotted pipe H so as to be in opencommunication with it as shown in Figure 3,.and pipe ll communicates as by one or more connecting pipes 12 to the suction side 13 of an exhaust fan 14 operated by a motor l5, while an adjustable damper or gate [6 in pipe or pipes 12 or. l3 suitably arranged for locking in any position, provides for determining the intensity of the vacuum operating on the undersides of the sheets of paper being dragged across the slot by the conveyor.

.. 7 Following the suction slot H1 is a transversely extending rock shaft l1 pivotally supported adjacent itsends by the frame sides 1 and on which the breaker blade, I8 is supported. The breaker .blade is arigid structure formed with a scraper edge. [8 ofhard steel or other hard alloy which may be removable from the body of the blade if desired, and the ends of the blade body are provided with hubs [9 each formed with an outwardly projecting lower lug 20 which extends between twospaced lugs M of a collar 22 secured firmly as by;pins 23 to the shaft 11, and through each of which latter lugs project threaded set screws 12.4,impingingoppositesides of lug 20 so as to provide for any desired angular adjustment of the blade. around the axis of the shaft 11. The

screws are provided with lock nuts 25 for locking .them in adjusted position.

The breaker shaft ,isgpivotally mounted between ,the side frames 1 below and to clear the gripper bars as they come along and in a manner so that the breaker blade may be swung upwardly .under the, paper sheets the moment a gripper ibar haspassed and force the sheet upwardly out of its path against the suctional pull of the "vacuum in slot ID, as shown in full lines in Fig- .ure 3, or drop to the dotted position the moment .the next gripperbar or set of grippers comes along so as to clear the same and immediately swing up again in back of it, in constant repetition.

In order to actuate the breaker blade in the manner described in synchronism with the successive gripperbars as they come along, means is provided tokeep the links of the chain strands in geared relation with the breaker blade actuating mechanism, as the gripper bars are each spaced .an equal number of links apart. This 76 means consists of a .sprocket wheel 26 engaging the lower run-0f chain and mounted on a shaft outer end of breaker shaft [1, while a tension spring 34 anchored at one end at 35 to a fixed stud on the machine frame and at the other end at 36 to a lug 31 on the crank, holds the roller against the cam.

Sprocket 26 may be duplicated at the opposite end of shaft 21 to similarly engage the opposite strand of chain of the conveyor, and in which case a pulley or chain wheel 39 may be mounted on one end, of shaft 21 for driving the conveyor through means of a belt or chain 38, or the conveyor may be driven from the head sprockets at one end of the conveyor by a motor or any suitable source of power in the common way of driving such conveyors, not shown in the drawings, and of course suitable means for taking up slack in the conveyor is provided as is the standard practice in all long chain conveyors of this type, but as such auxiliaries have no patentable relation to the present invention itself, it is not shown in the drawings.

In operation 017 the apparatus the endless chain conveyor is put into motion with the upper lower strands traveling in direction of the arrows, and the lower strand grippers dragging the varnished sheets X face up along the wire cloth or any other suitable support, and the fan .14 in operation to induce a suction in slot in so that the sheets are bowed downwardly into it, somewhat ,as indicated in Figure 3 by the suction against their undersides, or rather the unbalanced atmospheric air pressure directly above Jane-s Ihe number of teeth in sprockets and gears 26, ill-and 29 and spacing of the gripper bars 6 along the chains, is such that the moment a set of grip- ;pers are close to the breaker blade, cam 3| engages roller 32 and swings the blade down to clear thegrippers and permits it to rise under action of spring 34 the instant the grippers have cleared, soas to force the paper sheet up out of its plane as shown in Figure 3 so that the sheet is forcibly dragged over the edge of the blade unde r restraint of the suction inslot l0, and after the entire sheet has been thus scraped or broken from below the grippers are tripped to release them -bymeans well known, but not shown in :the-drawings, so as to deposit the scraped sheets -one upon'the other in a stock of sheets 40, and

the empty grippers return along the upper run ;,o f;th e ;chains as indicated at 5' on their way to the oppositeend of the conveyor to pick up freshly varnished sheets for carrying through the drying ovens, cool air, and over the breaker blade as described. The present machine of applicant handles sheets of paper of 40 inches by 53 inches at the rate of over three thousand sheets :an hour, but if previously dried sheets were being broken they could be run through much faster as the requirement offirst drying the Wet varnish them over theblade, and this static-electricity is eliminated by gathering points arranged close to the passing sheets in-the well known waywith printing and lithographic press paper handling, and therefore not shown on the drawings.

In consideringFigure 3 it will be noted that the first bending of the sheet downwardly into the suction slot exercises a strong breaking action on the sheet over the two edges of the slot, and that this action is followed by the action of the breaker blade against the sheet, so that in eiTect the sheet is subject tothree simultaneous scraping actions to break the varnish layer and effectively remove the tendency of the sheet to curl.

In considering the invention it is, of course, obvious that it will operate on gummed paper to remove its curling tendency, the same as it will on varnished printed sheets, and it is also obvious that several of the automatic scrapers may be arranged along the conveyor to operate on the sheets in succession, also from either side of the sheet or from both sides, also that while we show the suction slot l0 extending at right angles across the conveyor, this is not necessarily so, or there may be any desired number of additional suction slots extending at reverse angles across the conveyor to additionally break the sheets at such angles as they are dragged along, as there would be no different construction required than that already shown in the drawings.

It is also manifest that instead of the suction slot l0 being a continuous slot, it may be several short slots, or even a row of holes, though we prefer the continuous slot as its two inner corners or edges may be sharp to contribute to the breaking action. Our appended claims are intended to cover any such variations as may come within the scope or spirit of our invention.

We claim:

1. Paper sheet breaking apparatus comprising a traveling conveyor provided with spaced paper sheet grippers adapted to grip the margins of sheets of paper for dragging them along in spaced succession, a breaker blade extending across the conveyor adjacent the passing sheets, means mounting said blade for movement into and out of contact with one side of the sheets, and means operated in synchronism with said conveyor for so moving said blade and timed to move the blade away to clear the successive grippers as they come along and to contact the sheets immediately after the grippers have passed.

2. Paper sheet breaking apparatus comprising a traveling conveyor provided with spaced paper sheet grippers adapted to grip the margins of sheets of paper for dragging them along in spaced succession, a breaker blade extending across the conveyor adjacent the passing sheets, means mounting said blade for movement into and out of contact with one side of the sheets, and means operated in synchronism with said conveyor for so moving said blade and timed to move the blade away to clear the successive grippers as they come along and to contact the sheets immediately after the grippers have passed, and means tending to tension the sheets over the edge of the blade as they are scraped thereover.

3. Paper sheet breaking apparatus comprising a traveling conveyor provided with spaced paper sheet grippers adapted to grip the margins of sheets of paper for dragging. them along in spaced succession, a breaker blade extending across the conveyor adjacent the passing sheets, means mounting said blade for movement into and out of contact with one side of the sheets, and means operated in synchronism with said conveyor for so moving said blade and. timed to move the blade away to clear the successive grippers as they come alongandto contact the sheets immediately after the grippers have passed, and suction means operative on and tending to tension the sheets over the'edge of the blade as they are scraped thereover.

. 4. Paper sheet breaking apparatus comprising a traveling conveyor provided with spaced paper sheet grippers adapted to grip the margins of sheets of paper for dragging them along in spaced succession, a breaker blade extending across the conveyor adjacent the'passing sheets, means mounting said blade for movement into and out of contact with one side of the sheets, and means operated in synchronism with said conveyor for so moving said blade and timed to move the blade away to clear the successive grippers as they come along and to contact the sheets immediately after the grippers have passed, a slotted fixture extending across the conveyor and across the slot in which fixture the sheets are arranged to travel, and means for creating a suction in the fixture tending to hold the sheets under tension as they are dragged across said blade.

5. In apparatus of the character described means for forcibly pulling a. sheet of paper along a path of travel, a substantially stationary scraper blade across which the sheet is dragged, and suction means operative upon the sheet tending to hold it under tension against the edge of said blade.

6. Paper sheet breaking apparatus comprising a traveling conveyor provided with paper sheet grippers arranged at spaced intervals therealong' for successively gripping the margin respectively of successive sheets of paper, a breaker blade extending across the conveyor adjacent the passing sheets, and vacuum means extending across the conveyor and over which the sheets pass operating directly upon the sheets tending to tension them against said breaker blade as they are moved along by the conveyor.

7. In the apparatus as specified in claim 1 the means mounting said blade comprising a rock shaft, hubs on the base of the blade pivoted on said rock shaft, and a lug extending from one of said hubs, and a cooperating lug fixedly secured to said rock shaft, and means for positively adjusting the separation of the lugs for thereby adlusting the angular relation of said blade to said rock shaft.

8. In the apparatus as specified in claim 1, a foraminous sheet supporting said sheets of paper as they are dragged along arranged along the path of travel preceding the position of said breaker blade.

9. Paper sheet breaking apparatus comprising a traveling conveyor provided with means for gripping the margins of sheets of paper and conveying them along in spaced succession, a slotted fixture across which the sheets are dragged, and means for creating a suction in said fixture tending to suck the sheets tightly against said slot as they pass thereacross.

10. Paper sheet breaking apparatus comprising a traveling conveyor provided with means for gripping the margins of sheets of paper and conveying them along in spaced succession, a slotted fixture across which the sheets are dragged, and means for creating a suction in said fixture tending to suck the sheets tightly against said slot as they pass thereacross, said slot formed with edges over which the sheets are scraped as they pass across.

11. Paper sheet breaking apparatus com rising a breaker blade across the edge of which the sheet is scraped, and suction means operating directly upon the sheet adjacent said blade tending to hold the sheet in tension against the blade.

12. In apparatus of the character described, means for gripping and forcibly pulling successive spaced sheets of paper along a path of travel, a

scraper bladerover which the sheet is dragged," means for automatically relatively moving said blade and gripping means to clear the same in passing and contact the sheets immediately after passing of the gripping means. FRANK T. SHEEDY,

LOUIS TRAUNG.- 

